In this June 8, 2018 photo, divers collect plastic and other debris at a dive site off the Red Sea Coast in Southern Sinai, Egypt. AP
In this June 8, 2018 photo, divers collect plastic and other debris at a dive site off the Red Sea Coast in Southern Sinai, Egypt. AP
In this June 8, 2018 photo, divers collect plastic and other debris at a dive site off the Red Sea Coast in Southern Sinai, Egypt. AP
In this June 8, 2018 photo, divers collect plastic and other debris at a dive site off the Red Sea Coast in Southern Sinai, Egypt. AP

Egypt's Red Sea single-use plastic ban comes into effect


Hamza Hendawi
  • English
  • Arabic

The implementation of a ban on single-use plastic products in Egypt's Red Sea province, home to world-renowned beach destinations, has taken effect, according to the provincial governor, in a revolutionary step for a country where the environment suffers from apathy and negligence.

Governor Ahmed Abdullah said on Wednesday that supermarkets, grocery stores and other commercial outlets in the province have diligently observed the ban since it came into force on June 1.

"We have distributed to residents paper bags free of charge to use when they go shopping," the governor said in a WhatsApp message to The National.

The Red Sea province has kept Egypt's vital tourism sector afloat, attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists when political upheavals and violence in Cairo kept away visitors in the years that followed a popular uprising in 2011.

The ban, the first of its kind in Egypt, was inspired by a memorandum presented to authorities by a voluntary environmental group on the dangers of plastic to both humans and marine life. The ban provides an expanded set of regulations on the use of single-use plastic products that was first announced in 2008 but was never properly implemented.

The ban comes at a time when Egypt is experiencing with great relief a steady rise in the number of foreign visitors after years of slumping following the 2011 uprising. Much of that traffic is going to the Red Sea region, home to popular beach and water sports resorts like El Gouna, Sahl Hasheesh, Hurghada, Soma Bay, Safaga and Marsa Alam.

Their rich and diverse marine life and golden sand beaches may hold the key to the future of tourism in Egypt, a country of 100 million people whose international image as a safe destination occasionally suffers by attacks blamed on radical Islamist militants. The ban on single-use plastic products in the Red Sea region could only enhance the reputation of the resorts and make them more attractive as the number of environmentally-aware tourists grow globally.

The ban applies to restaurants, supermarkets, grocery stores, pharmacies and cruise and leisure ships that dock off the shores of the Red Sea province. Hotels are not yet included, but most of them are already voluntarily observing the ban, which covers products like spoons, forks, knives, cups, dishes as well as bags.

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RESULTS

5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m, Winner SS Lamea, Saif Al Balushi (jockey), Ibrahim Al Hadhrami (trainer).

5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,400m, Winner AF Makerah, Sean Kirrane, Ernst Oertel

6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m, Winner Maaly Al Reef, Brett Doyle, Abdallah Al Hammadi

6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh90,000 1,600m, Winner AF Momtaz, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi

7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 2,200m, Winner Morjanah Al Reef, Brett Doyle, Abdallah Al Hammadi

7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 2,200m, Winner Mudarrab, Jim Crowley, Erwan Charpy

Specs

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Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Profile of Tamatem

Date started: March 2013

Founder: Hussam Hammo

Based: Amman, Jordan

Employees: 55

Funding: $6m

Funders: Wamda Capital, Modern Electronics (part of Al Falaisah Group) and North Base Media

Key figures in the life of the fort

Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.

Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.

Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.

Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.

Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.

Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.

Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.

Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae

If you go

Flying

Despite the extreme distance, flying to Fairbanks is relatively simple, requiring just one transfer in Seattle, which can be reached directly from Dubai with Emirates for Dh6,800 return.

 

Touring

Gondwana Ecotours’ seven-day Polar Bear Adventure starts in Fairbanks in central Alaska before visiting Kaktovik and Utqiarvik on the North Slope. Polar bear viewing is highly likely in Kaktovik, with up to five two-hour boat tours included. Prices start from Dh11,500 per person, with all local flights, meals and accommodation included; gondwanaecotours.com 

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home. 

The National Archives, Abu Dhabi

Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.

Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

The%20specs
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In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff

The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre turbo

Power: 181hp

Torque: 230Nm

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

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Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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Captain Marvel

Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck

Starring: Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson, Jude Law,  Ben Mendelsohn

4/5 stars

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog

Name: Greg Heinricks

From: Alberta, western Canada

Record fish: 56kg sailfish

Member of: International Game Fish Association

Company: Arabian Divers and Sportfishing Charters